About Me

I feel I am able to communicate
well and I have a good grounding
in people skills.......Basically
all humanity is the same!
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The foundation of this blog was cemented by the Assassination of Hrant Dink on 19.01.07. I was listening to Setrak Setrakian’s rendition of Arno Babajanian’s composition, Elegy. So
moved by Hrant’s shortened life by the virtue of speaking his mind that I wrote the poem, ‘Without You’ with Hrant's family in mind. The subject matter of the recognition of the ‘Genocide of the Armenians in 1915,’ is very much at the heart and the minds of Armenian's Internationally.
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I want to say: 'Thank you,'
to Keith for the Creation
and Launch of,
Seta's Armenian.blogspot.com
and Armenag for the sources
of information.
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If you feel it would be appropriate, please include a link to my Blog from your Site. I would like my Blog to be as eclectic as possible and include material from as many and different sources so long as it is relevant to my subject matter.

About My Blog

This well-established Blog is worth visiting on a regular basis for a wealth of information of interest to Armenian nationals and to the Armenian Diaspora world-wide. Although it has a particular role in promoting international recognition of the Genocide, the Blog encompasses much more and includes many articles of general appeal to all those concerned with Armenian affairs. Much of the content is difficult or impossible to find elsewhere and the long list of links provided gives easy access to a plethora of material on social, political, religious, educational and cultural matters, and many news items from around the world.

Yerevan. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian hasstated that the international community should take immediate stepsto protect Christians in Middle East who can be considered as oneof the most vulnerable groups in the region which are on the brinkof extinction.

Edward Nalbandian said this addressing a speech at UN-initiateddiscussion on "Support to Christians' Rights in Middle East" in Geneva.

"Unfortunately, Christianity in Middle East is seriously threatenednow. Beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts and brutal attacks againstAssyrians in Syria were only the recent episodes. Suffice it to saythat the number of Christians within the overall population decreasedfrom 20% in the early 20th century to less than 5% as of the early21st century. Christians in Middle East can be considered one of themost vulnerable groups which are on the brink of extinction demandingimmediate measures to protect and support them", said the Armenian FM.

According to him, the fight against Islamic State, al-Nusra and otherterrorist groups should be carried out in the context of preventinggenocides.

The Minister recalled the attacks against Armenian-populated Kessabtown by Al Qaeda-related terrorist groups and acts of vandalism againstreligious and cultural heritage of Kessab and Armenian Saint MartyrsChurch in Deir-ez-Zor.

"This crime against civilization is the blatant reminder of suchbarbarian acts in the past- cases of destruction of Buddhas' Bamiyanstatues, Timbuktu Tombs and thousands of medieval Armenian khachkarsin Nakhichevan when thousands of monuments were demolished under theAzerbaijani authorities' careful supervision", said the Armenian FMcalling for severely condemning such steps.

Russia has officially reaffirmed its refusal to extradite to Armenia aRussian soldier accused of murdering the seven members of an Armenianfamily in Gyumri earlier this year.

In a letter publicized on Tuesday by the opposition Zharangutyunparty, a senior official from the Russian Prosecutor-General's Officesaid that the conscript, Valery Permyakov is "not subject to handover"to Armenian law-enforcement authorities. He cited Article 61 ofRussia's constitution which prohibits the extradition to foreignstates of Russian citizens charged with crimes.

The official also argued that Russian and Armenian investigators are"closely cooperating" in their ongoing separate inquiries into theJanuary 12 massacre that caused shock and outrage in Armenia.

The letter was an official response to a written petition which ZaruhiPostanjian, a Zharangutyun parliamentarian, sent to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin shortly after six members of the Avetisian family wereshot dead in their Gyumri home. The seventh family member, a6-month-old baby boy, died of his stab injuries a week later.

Echoing the demands of many Armenians and Gyumri residents inparticular, Postanjian petitioned Putin to ensure that Permyakov istransferred to Armenian jurisdiction. Prosecutor-General GevorgKostanian sent a similar letter to his Russian counterpart, YuryChayka, in early February.

Chayka's office said on February 20 that Kostanian's appeal is being"considered." Its written reply to Postanjian dated February 16suggests that the Russian authorities remain unwilling to hand overPermyakov.

The 18-year-old suspect has been kept at the Gyumri headquarters ofthe Russian military base in Armenia ever since the gruesomekillings. Scores of Gyumri citizens took to the streets of Armenia'ssecond largest city on January 14-15 to demand his handover. Some ofthem clashed with riot police near the local Russian consulate.

Armenia -- People surround the coffin with the body of six-month-oldboy Seryozha Avetisian after he died of his wounds in hospital,following a killing spree last week, during a funeral ceremony inGyumri January 21, 2015Non-partisan organizers of those demonstrations have pledged to stagemore street protests if Moscow remains adamant about keeping custodyof Permyakov and prosecuting him under Russian law. "The issue is anextraordinary one and the solution to it must be just asextraordinary," one of them, Armen Nersisian, said on Tuesday. "Ibelieve that the issue is on the political, rather than legal, plane."

Speaking to RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am), Nersisiandismissed the references to the Russian constitution. He pointed to a1997 Russian-Armenian treaty regulating Russian military presence inArmenia.

The treaty stipulates that Russian military personnel charged withcrimes committed outside their installations shall be prosecuted byArmenian authorities. It requires Russian investigators to deal withoffenses happening within the military base.

Several subversive operations have been conducted. In one of themthe enemy approached our positions and two Armenian servicemen werekilled. The number of violations of the truce by Azerbaijan hasdoubled over the past few days," Hovannisyan told the press on Monday.

"The situation, which was so hard to stabilize, is tense again throughthe fault of Azerbaijan. We are drawing the attention of the mediatorsto this situation and are issuing a fresh warning that responsibilityfor the hard consequences will be borne by the Azeri side," he said.

Two servicemen of the self proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic'sarmed forces were killed when they were resisting attempts byAzeri servicemen to cross the border, the press service of theNagorno-Karabakh defense ministry told Interfax.

The incident occurred in the northeastern sector of the engagementline on Saturday, it said.

"The enemy was pushed back to their initial positions," the pressservice said.

(US$4,000) in compensation to an artist for calling his sculpture - meantto promote reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia - a "monstrosity."

Erdogan expressed his dislike in 2011 of Mehmet Aksoy's giant "Monumentto Humanity," which was being erected in the eastern city of Kars,prompting local authorities there to dismantle it. Aksoy then suedErdogan for "insult."

Armenia has denied the political context of the nation's entry in oneof Europe's biggest pop music contest in response to accusations madeby Turkish and Azerbaijani media.

The 2015 Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Vienna, Austria,on May 19-23. Armenia will present an original project calledGeneaology. It is a group of Diaspora Armenian singers representingfive continents. They will be joined by a six member representingArmenia. The title of Armenia's Eurovision song is also chosen "Don'tDeny", but the lyrics have not been officially announced yet.

Turkish fans recently started a petition on Change.org, demanding thatArmenia be disqualified for the song title ostensibly constituting amessage on the 1915 mass killings of Ottoman Armenians that Turkeydenies amounted to genocide. At the same time Azerbaijan's PublicTV and Radio Broadcasting Company issued a statement saying: "Thiscontest cannot be an arena for any country's political ambitions. ThePublic Television and Radio Broadcasting Company states that if thenews is confirmed, we will also take appropriate steps in the contest."

Gohar Gasparyan, the head of the Armenian delegation at Eurovision2015, stated that Armenia as always will keep Eurovision rules andwill be represented with a decent performance. She said that Turkishand Azerbaijani media's accusations are groundless until Armeniaintroduced its product.

Such precedents are not rare in Eurovision history. In 2009, a yearafter a Russo-Georgian war, the Georgian delegation preferred towithdraw from the Eurovision after the incident when the contestauthority required that it change the song title reminding the nameof then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The same year more than four dozen Azerbaijanis who voted for Armeniain the Eurovision final were later summoned to the Azerbaijani NationalSecurity Service for questioning.

Turkish and Azerbaijani media have also been troubled by anotherEurovision participant's entry this year. The song of France'scontestant Lisa Angell, 46, entitled N'oubliez pas or "Don't Forget"also reminded about the slogan of this year's Armenian GenocideCentennial.

According to the official website of the Eurovision Song Contest,the song was first performed at a concert in November during thecommemoration period of the First World War, "while the singeremphasizes that the song refers not only to this very special eventin history but to any kind of conflict".

armenpress.am

ARMENIA'S PARTICIPATION IN BAKU GAMES IS POINTLESS

AND MEANINGLESS: LEVON JULFALAKYAN3 March, 2015

YEREVAN, 3 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. Armenia's participation in the FirstEuropean Games in Baku is pointless. This is what chief coach for theArmenian national Greco-Roman style wrestling team Levon Julfalakyansaid in an interview with "Armenpress". "First, I doubt that Azerbaijanwill ensure our athletes' safety. Their safety comes first.

Today, there are shootings on the border every day, the Azerbaijanisare downing Armenian helicopters or killing Armenians in their sleep,and no international organization is applying sanctions againstAzerbaijan.

After all that, I think it would be lack of self-respect for Armenianathletes to show respect and go. Armenia has to let everyone knowthat Armenians have self-respect. Participation in the Baku Games ispointless and meaningless," Julfalakyan said. Julfalakyan also statedthat the Armenian Wrestling Federation has already made a decisionand has considered participating in those games meaningless. "TheAzerbaijanis will do everything possible to make sure the Armenianathletes return without any medals," the team's chief coach said.

armenpress.amCARREFOUR TO OPEN IN ARMENIA ON MARCH 11TH5 March, 2015

YEREVAN, 5 MARCH. Citizens of Armenia have been waiting forthis day for a long time. The opening of Carrefour hypermarket willbe held at Yerevan Mall on March 11, 2015, as posted on Carrefour'sFacebook page, as "Armenpress" reports.

Carrefour is the world's second largest retail network afterWal-Mart. The largest package of shares of Carrefour group belongsto famous French businessman Bernard Arnault. The company has nearly15,000 hypermarkets, supermarkets and small stores in 32 countriesaround the world. In 2012, Carrefour opened a hypermarket in Tbilisi,making it the first Carrefour hypermarket in the region.

After years of growth, production of Armenian brandy and wine, majorexport items mostly sold in Russia, has decreased considerably inrecent months due to the sharp depreciation of the Russian currency,the ruble.

Data from the National Statistical Service (NSS) show that show theproduction volumes shrinking by just over 8 percent last year. Thedownward trend seems to be accelerating this year, with output inArmenia's export-oriented brandy industry plummeting by as much as 32percent year on year in January 2015.

Industry executives say the Russian ruble, which has depreciated byalmost half over the past year, is the main factor behind theproduction losses. Russia has long been the main market for brandy andwine distilled in Armenia from locally grown grapes.

The weak ruble seems to have also affected other Armenian exportersspecializing in the Russian market. According to the NSS, overallArmenian exports to Russia fell by about 8 percent to $308.5 millionin 2014.

"With the Russian ruble much weaker now, our products are notcompetitive in the Russian market in terms of their price," saidAleksan Petrosian, the owner of MAP, a major Armenian brandy producerbased in the southern Armavir.

"This is a very bad thing," Petrosian told RFE/RL's Armenian service(Azatutyun.am). "We have spent 20 years gaining a market share inRussia and now risk losing it just because of the exchange rate."

Alik Gasparian, the deputy director of the Proshian Brandy Factorynear Yerevan, also reported major production losses. "We still exportbrandy to Russia but on a small scale," he said. "We have shipped onlyfive truckloads [of the alcohol] so far this year."

"We keep sending stuff there only to make sure that we don't lose theRussian market," added Gasparian.

Another, smaller liquor firm, Aregak, claims to have stood idle inrecent months for the same reason. "That is to do with the collapse ofthe Russian ruble and low [dollar-denominated] prices," said NairaPapoyan, the Aregak owner.

"We will somehow meet our contractual obligations for April and May atold [ruble] prices, just to avoid being left out of the market," shesaid.

Both Papoyan and MAP's Petrosian agreed that the production fall couldforce distilleries to cut back on grape purchases from Armenianfarmers this fall. Tens of thousands of farmers are dependent on thosepurchases

Vineyards occupy a large part of agricultural land in southern Armeniaand some other parts of the country.armradio.am

armradio.am

HOW KOMITAS PRESERVED ARMENIAN FOLK MUSIC04 Mar 2015Siranush GhazanchyanIn the 1990s, the duduk found its way into movie soundtracks, radioplaylists and record collections of the west. Yet as Cara Rosehopewrites, the music of Armenia's national instrument might never havesurvived the Armenian genocide were it not for Komitas--a priest,musician, composer and so much more.

A report prepared by David Rutledge of ABC Radio National exploresthe legacy of Komitas.

The Armenia of today is a tiny nation state in the Caucasus, buthistorically Armenia stretched across eastern Anatolia, over theEuphrates and Tigris rivers, past Mt Ararat, where Noah's Ark issaid to lie, on into the Caucasus. It was a land rich in poetry andsong from towns and villages in a varied and often rugged landscape:rural work songs, life-cycle ceremonial music, nature songs, lovesongs and ancient epics, as well as the sung liturgies and prayersof its Eastern Orthodox Church.

Komitas was born in 1869 to a musical Armenian family in OttomanAnatolia. Orphaned in childhood, his beautiful voice and skill withArmenian church music led to his being taken in by the church inEchmiadzin, the high seat of the Armenian orthodoxy. At the prestigiousseminary in Echmiadazin, Komitas received the best general and musicaleducation that eastern Armenia could offer, and there he began researchinto Armenia's national music which would last for decades.

As a student, Komitas developed an interest in folk music, and beganto methodically transcribe what he heard as he travelled through therural villages of Armenia. He used a 19th century Armenian notationwhich captured the distinctive Armenian melodic modes, rhythms andmusical accents.

'Komitas' most important contribution to music was his collection offolk music; they say he collected over 5,000 [songs],' says HaroldHagopian, a New York-based Armenian-American violinist, folk musicianand producer who runs a renowned world music record label.

'Anybody who survived [the genocide] was five or 10 years old, theywere children ... a few people, you know, old timers remember thesongs, and who knows if they remember them right, because, after all,they were five years old.'

>From 1896 to 1899, Komitas attended a music conservatory in Berlin,where he studied European music theory, musicology, Byzantine chant,folkloric music, and also the music of Armenia's neighbours,which--like Armenia's--is modal. He began to explore ways ofintroducing harmonies to the monophonic music of his homeland whilemaintaining its distinctively Armenian character.

'Komitas is Armenia's Bach, Schubert and Bartok,' says IsabelBayrakdarian, an Armenian-Lebanese-Canadian opera singer and recitalistwith an international solo career. 'Bach, with his sacred musicrevolutionised the style of what was to come after him. He's theSchubert because he started something we never had: art songs.'

On his return to Echmiazin, Komitas began to write and arrange worksusing the folk elements of Armenian music. The next two decades sawthe by now nationalistic Komitas studying, publishing, lecturing andleading choirs in concerts across Europe and the Middle East, employingboth his knowledge of Armenian music and European musical theory. Histime in Paris between 1906 and 1909 was especially fruitful.

'He met people like Debussy, who was also a nationalist--at that timethere was a very strong nationalist movement in music in Europe,'says Harold Hagopian. 'He said, "I can do the same thing, I can takefolk songs, folk melodies, folk scales, rhythms, and twist them around,and write pieces."

'He established an Armenian national school of composition.'

After one of Komitas' choir concerts, Debussy is said to have remarked:'Had Komitas only composed the one song, Adouni, even then, he wouldhave been recognised as a great artist.'

Despite Komitas' considerable international artistic success, hethought of himself in more modest terms.

'Komitas thought of himself not as a musicologist, not as a composer,but as a Khazaget, a person who is studying the khaz, the old Armenianmusic notation system,' says Professor Mher Navoyan, a musicologistand Komitas scholar at the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan,Armenia's capital.

Komitas had also begun to study medieval Armenian church music. Thishad been transcribed in a neume-like system of musical notationwhich was no longer understood, and Komitas sensed that the musicfrom isolated Armenian villages could act as the key to theirunderstanding. In his published articles, he stated that his concernwas to filter out the influences of other Middle Eastern music andto return to what he felt was authentically Armenian.

In 1910 Komitas moved to Constantinople, the capital of the OttomanEmpire, and during a 1912 trip to Paris, he made his first foray intorecording onto wax cylinders.

In 1915 Ottoman Turkey entered WWI and, for the Ottoman Armenians,everything changed. Genocide reduced the Armenian population inthe Anatolian heartland to almost zero. Komitas was among its firstvictims. A century on, Armenia is one sixth of the size that it oncewas, and the majority of Armenians live elsewhere in the world. Formost, all that remains of their homeland are the songs.

this folk culture is very important to us as a nation, as a people. Wethink the folk culture is the road for us to go back.'

Since the genocide, Komitas' reputation and importance to Armeniahas only grown. His work has also been the means to move forward fromthe tragedy of the genocide.

'For me, it was very important for the whole Armenian world thatKomitas was able to establish a new way of musical thinking,' saysProfessor Mher Navoyan

'When we talk about his music, first, his artistic value is themost important ... Armenian people, they accept it as folk music,and on the other side, it is the highest level of the Armenian schoolof composition.'

Public Radio of Armenia has contributed to the preparation of thereport.